The Story of the Human Body: Evolution, Health, and Disease

Daniel Lieberman • 2013

The Story of the Human Body: Evolution, Health, and Disease

Why It Matters

Lieberman explains how our bodies evolved for ancient environments and why that creates mismatch today — from obesity to back pain to diabetes.


Key Ideas

  • Evolutionary Mismatch → modern lifestyle vs. ancient design.
  • Movement & Diet → our bodies expect activity and simple foods.
  • Health Consequences → mismatch fuels chronic disease.

My Take

This book gave me the clearest biological framing for The Modern Caveman.
It underpins why microchallenges (like moving every hour) are about restoring natural patterns, not hacking habits.


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